Xavi must look at himself before blaming others for Barcelona’s defeats

Barcelona were 2-1 up and cruising at Girona on Saturday evening, but within the space of nine second half minutes found themselves 4-2 down.

Not only would they go on to deservedly lose their first-ever game at Montilivi, but it could’ve been a whole lot worse were it not for Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Frankly, the last 30 minutes of the match were an absolute disgrace and once again Xavi and his backroom staff had no clue whatsoever as to how to stem the tide.

It’s all very well shouting and hollering at the players, but give them some reasonable direction for God’s sake.

Throwing them under the bus in the post-match press conference does the former midfielder no favours either.

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These same players were unbeaten from the time Xavi handed in his ‘resignation’ to the time he returned, and since then they’ve let in 13 goals in four games.

Three against Real Madrid, four against Paris Saint-Germain, two against Valencia and the four vs Girona.

It’s true that the club have nothing to play for but there remains a responsibility on each and every player when they wear the badge.

Not giving 100 per cent each and every week – as a basic tenet of their employment – is unforgivable.

If it’s needed, the manager and his staff should be ramming that home along with just why performances are not good enough, and then looking for solutions to rectify those problems.

Xavi himself needs to set a better example on the sidelines too. The yellow card he received on Saturday was, incredibly, his 22nd since taking charge of Barca, not to mention the two red cards he’s received in that time too.

It hints at a manager that’s unable to control his emotions in the big moments and that reflects poorly on him.

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What’s galling too is that the Catalans have a reasonable enough first-team squad to be able to be beating most teams at a canter.

Ilkay Gundogan, Frenkie de Jong, Joao Felix, Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha et al… all players that could walk into any other side.

As a player himself Xavi was beyond compare, but he has so much to learn as a manager – still.

Dare I suggest the club only decided to persuade him to stay because they’re not in a healthy enough financial position to be able to afford anyone else and give them enough to spend to make the team competitive.

Next season will be absolutely make or break Xavi as a manager at Barcelona.

If he hasn’t been able to iron out the issues that have plagued his side for two years now, then he will be sent packing.